Private Eye of Affection
by mossdeep
Summary: With nowhere to go, he seems to be the only place she can stay. Reluctant and constantly annoyed by his cold, frank way of speaking, May Sebastian teams up with a strange haired detective to solve a case which hits home hard. —AU, DAIHARU.
1. Chapter 1

**1' sometimes over-thinking isn't enough thinking.**

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The ticks of the clock, a hot, _hot_ temperature of the room and the noise of the teacher's shoes tapping the floor, all of it was uncomfortable. Students' eyes would avert the others' if they met, and no one could hear it, but every single one of their hearts were beating at radical paces. This was what made a classroom during an exam. Or, at least to May, it did.

Her oceanic eyes were bloodshot, bloodshot from the lack of sleep and stress. The near end of her throat happened to be dry, so dry that the saliva would stick and occasionally prevent her from delivering words. She disregarded breakfast _and_ lunch in order to have added time for studying; therefore her stomach caved in with hunger. The tips of her small fingers rubbed against the wooden table with restlessness. May wasn't smart, or at least in her own opinion she wasn't, she liked to believe herself to be "hard-working."

As she sucked the inside of her cheek, the white door slowly opened, a young man's head steadily peeked through it. His eyes scanned the room and abruptly stopped when he found May's cinnamon hair. The student tip-toed to the young woman and gently tapped her shoulder, she jumped.

"What do you want, Brendan?!" Her voice was raspy, and since she whispered, it was almost as if sound didn't even come out of her lips, she just mouthed the words.

"You need to come with me. Now." His voice was placid, his eyes told more than his words.

The young woman's eyes calmed once she understood the seriousness of his tone; and she slowly arose, picked up her books, and left the room with Brendan. Once the two were in the silence of the hallway, May beckoned her friend to speak. Her heart had beat faster with every passing second, her eyes felt as if they were on fire. Then, Brendan said five words which swirled her body into utter fraught.

"You need to go home."

"Why?"

"You… I don't think you would want to hear this kind of news from me."

The brunette released an agnostic laugh. "What would it be that I wouldn't want to hear from one of my _best_ friends?"

Brendan swallowed and his eyes went to the floor, his angular hands planted themselves on her shoulders. May had never seen her friend so serious, throughout the three years they had been friends, he would only show this side of himself when times were crucial. She brought in a deep breath and nodded to her friend, taking his hands off her shoulders and walking away. Brendan's blue orbs watched her leave, a small, strange smile curving across his lips.

May barged through her dormitory room door, clutching a duffel bag. She shoved any clean clothes she could find in the bag, frantically she tucked her phone into her pocket. Finishing her "packing," (it was actually an awful job in her mind), the young woman ran out the door and down the hallways. Once she exited the building, all left was to drive home. May only had to endure a three-hour ride.

Those three hours antagonized the girl's mind, she wondered, did something happen to her parents? Maybe her father had another heart attack, maybe her mother relapsed? She wasn't sure; and she was upset since the last time she saw them there were issues unresolved. The poor girl had become scared out of her mind, her breath was caught in her throat.

However, she had assured herself of one thing: whatever it was, it wasn't as if her parents disappeared off the globe. The drive tired her mind, restless from over thinking, and she wanted to stop and tell herself, "pull yourself together you idiot." But she couldn't, she had to keep going, unfortunately unraveling every mile of the way. The sun had slowly began to decline behind the hills, and the brunette sipped on her coffee now and then.

She eventually arrived in her hometown, her blue eyes scattered left and right searching for a sigh of relief. At this point, she would take seeing her old, fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Turp, at the nearest convenience store would help her relax. But she laughed to herself in pity, "now why on earth would that old lady be out at 9:00 PM?"

She passed the police station, which strangely had all of its lights on—she noted that the station never has all of its lights on meaning something had happened and the police were working late. Although, May's mind did not make the connection that this something involved her parents; and she continued onto her neighborhood.

Now, even though all the lights at the station were lit, not a house showed even a glint of gold. This perplexed the girl, she decelerated her car, presently searching for a home with lights. To her distress, she could not spot a single house: May began creeping throughout the streets in uneasiness.

She summoned the courage and decided to drive to her home already, her heart thumped. She slowly pulled up and parked with a soft screech, May exhaled and inhaled heavy breaths. Her eyes widened in confusion as there was yellow police tape in a cross on her front door. Her brown loafers stepped out onto the gravel and proceeded up to her white house, she felt numb now. May couldn't hear anything besides the sound of her racing heart, specifically as her fingertips reached for the yellow tape.

It was cold out, breezes of bone chilling air swept underneath her nose; and her fingers became pink. She swallowed, but merely before she could touch the yellow plastic, she became conscious of a large body behind herself. This body was taller than her, shoulders broader than her, she hadn't known wether she should be scared. But it was too late to know right or wrong—because this person struck her skull with a sharp pressure, her last sight happened to be her front door then everything seemed to fade to black…

_chapter 1, end._

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_author's note: _it has been quite some time since I've done a story... I've found different interests, but I have definitely improved my writing. I'm rusty to writing on-going fiction, so please bear with me as I try to get back into my groove. This _is_ Gameverse, so chill out my fellow animeshippers. This is a rather short chapter, but again, I am rusty. Other chapters will be longer. I also hope to update monthly. I do not own the Pokémon franchise either.


	2. Chapter 2

**2' confusion was her favorite word.**

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May's eyes lagged open, it took a few moments for them to focus—the room coiled around, and around, and around. She was dizzy. It was to be expected, what she did not expect was the excruciating headache and knot in her neck. Therefore, she stretched her neck with a groan and rolled her eyes ending with a sigh, then noticed the pressure on her ankles and wrists.

She was bound to the chair. Arms were behind the back, ankles tied to the chair's legs. May pursed her lips. _What the hell?_ She released an exasperated grumble, cursing to herself underneath her breath. Saying how, when she frees herself of this mess, she will roundhouse kick the perp responsible so hard in his intestines he would not be able to stand up. _Seems reasonable,_ she thought.

The brunette glanced around the room, noticing its small, plain features. If she was to escape her current environment, she has to learn about it first. The room was dim, the only light was a lamp in the far corner, which gave off a soft, yellow brightness. A few brown cardboard boxes were scattered about, obviously the individual occupying it had just recently moved it. _Very recently, _she noted. There was a small, black desk near the window to the left side; and on this desk was a school notepad and a digital alarm clock which read 2:13 AM. Now she didn't wonder why she felt so drained.

May had spent the last few days with excessive studying, she didn't sleep a restful wink either; then with Brendan interrupting her during her exam she didn't have time to pause and breathe. She rolled her eyes. The present moment wasn't so promising as well, her lips pursed, life couldn't become more stressful.

However she swallowed and exhaled a large breath. "Alright, May." The young woman stretched her neck once again in a circular motion. "Remember what mom and dad taught you about things like these."

What she needed to do was relax, breathe, and observe her surroundings. Once she had done all three, she could figure out a game plan.

Since it was past midnight, people would be asleep, she shouldn't make too much noise. The plastic bands around her wrists and ankles turned out to be quite the challenge. She could not maneuver her way out of them no matter what she did, unless she had brute strength which she did not. Her squirming and shimmying only caused the chair to budge. Then, like the mindless girl in frustration she was, May summoned all of the unused strength she had left to try one last yank. That didn't work. What did work was that she successfully knocked herself and the chair onto the ground. Her left cheek and lips were rubbed into the gruff carpet. Although it was carpet she had fallen onto, a moderately loud bumping noise came from the plummet. She swallowed in anguish and squirmed her body, still no avail.

However, her body instantaneously came to a halt when she heard footsteps and a knob turn from behind the blood-red door. Her heart thumped rapidly as the door moved forward, she could only see the person's feet as they walked into the room since her face was sideways onto the ground. Their black leather shoes stopped right in front of her nose, no matter how much May had her right eye look up, she could only see black dress pants. This was obviously a man who held her captive. Either that, or it was a woman with very masculine legs; and her suspicions of a man were right on the money when he cleared his throat. That was her cue to demand an explanation.

"Care to tell me why I'm here?" She said, her voice half-muffled since half of her mouth was in the carpet.

Her captor clicked his lip and put a hand on the right side of her chair, then put his other arm around her left side and picked her up. He straightened her chair so she could see him clearly. May blinked seeing her kidnapper, he was so…

"You made quite a large noise with your fall in the chair," he said with a straight face. The young woman gulped. His voice as well, that was also…

"Struggling to get free?" the man asked.

May licked her dry lips, her voice started out with a croak in her following sentences. "And what if I was? You can't blame me."

Her captor gave her a thumbs up, raising his brows and nodding in agreement. "Your argument is justified."

And the way he moved, too was…

"Well, are you going to explain?" She complained.

…Handsome? Was that it? Handsome? Maybe it was. But a kidnapper who's handsome?

"Only if you will," he shrugged.

The young girl's brows furrowed and she tilted her head. "What _exactly_ do you mean?"

"I _mean_ why were you outside the Sebastians home at 9:05 PM in the dark?"

"Creep!" May cried out. "You're a creep! Creep! Someone! Help, I'm being held by a creep!"

The man's eyes widened and he shushed her as loud as he could but she was louder, so he moved close and put a hand over her mouth. She shook and squirmed while her voice was muffled underneath his palm.

"Shhh! Calm down! Why would you say such a thing?!" he yelled at her under a harsh whisper. He moved his hand a little bit off her mouth so she could reply.

"Because! How else would you know precisely what time I was outside my parents home?! Unless you were a stalker! You creep!" she whispered back violently in his face, so close she must have spit on him.

Her kidnapper paused for a second, putting a balled fist to his mouth in thought. "Wait, you're the Sebastians child?"

May nodded.

"This… This can't be I wasn't given information that they…" he trailed off and walked towards the desk with the notepad. He grabbed it and quickly jotted down some words, drew arrows, grew frustrated and ended up ripping the piece of paper off and crumpling it up into a ball. He paced for a moment then turned to his abductee.

"Excuse me for a moment, I need to make a phone call."

He left the room. May sat there confused, but honestly could've cared less since confusion became a regular thing for her now. She sorted through today's events in her head. First, she starved herself for exams' sake. Second, she was told to go home for some emergency. Third, there was yellow police tape on her house's front door. Fourth, she became this strangely haired man's prisoner and she has no idea where she has been taken. All of this was too wild for her to begin with, she just wanted to go back to college already.

The young woman waited another five or six minutes before he came back, his face expressed quite the amount of worry and sympathy. May wondered why he looked so upset, but was not going to ask. She didn't even know this man, there was no need to extend her help to him.

However, it wasn't him who was going to need the help. "So, you're Norman's daughter, correct?"

For some reason there was an underlying sorrow behind her father's name when he said it.

"Yes."

It almost seems as though something happened.

"When was the last time you spoke with your parents?"

What was this? There was so much tension gathering in the air.

"Three months ago."

Her voice was beginning to crack.

"So you haven't heard."

It was becoming harder for her to breathe.

"Heard what?"

She could only hear her racing heart.

"Ms. Sebastian, I'm sorry to tell you this—"

_Thump… Thump… Thump…_

"Your father was found dead three days ago."

Her world stopped.

"There appeared to be foul play," he continued, "I'm terribly sorry."

"W-Wh… What about m-mom…" the young girl's voice shook.

"We have no clue."

"We?"

The man moved closer towards the girl, bending down beside her. "That's why I'm here. I'm an investigator working for the government, this is my case."

May's face stared into space, emotionless, and her head hung down. The investigator's eyes widened as tears dripped down onto her lap. His frown became more grim. The man looked as though he was about to say something, but then he turned his head away. He gently cut off the plastic around her wrists and ankles.

"There we go, you can leave if you like," he breathed.

The woman sat there dejected, she was still crying. She sniffled and wiped her tears halfheartedly. "W-Where am I going to go?" she hiccuped.

"I'm not sure… You should probably go back to your university, it's better that way."

There was silence for a few moments while May thought. She couldn't go back home now, her father was dead and her mother was missing! The brunette shook her head.

"No, I won't go home." She began. "Let me help you with the investigation."

"I can't allow that, you have nothing to do with the investigation at the moment," he disapproved.

"I'm—"

"You're the victim's child, and only the child. That doesn't give you right to interfere."

Muted by his words, she couldn't say anything else. He glanced at her then sighed.

"But I don't suggest driving back right at this moment," he said, standing up from his crouching position. "Do you have anywhere to spend the night?"

She shook her head.

"Alright then, you can spend the night in here. I'll bring you some things."

The investigator started for the door, when he was halfway through it May stopped him. "Wait…" she said softly. "What's… your name? I don't have anything to call you. You can call me May…"

The silver-haired man frowned for some odd reason, pursing his lips before answering. "Steven Stone."

_chapter 2, end._

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_author's note:_ Waaaaaaay too much dialogue in this chapter :P I honestly had a hard time depicting May's feelings when she finds out her daddy's dead. I hope what I put down was good enough, oh well. Tell me what you think so far if you'd like! Also forgive me for any typos, I'll proofread it later.


	3. Chapter 3

**3' baby steps should be smaller.**

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Dawn didn't have the chance to set in before May's eyes snapped open. Her body was sore, her shoulders and fingers ached. With a heavy chest, she glanced around the room—last night was regrettably not a dream. It screamed reality, especially when she gazed down at her clothes. The red blouse and denim slacks she wore during the exam still dressed her. She turned her head to the window, the sun slowly appeared to rise. May sat there, feeling as though time had stopped and began at once—when sunlight completely illuminated the room, it seemed no time had passed at all. But that wasn't true, no—she just could not move.

She couldn't or she didn't want to? May had to ask herself that question, because if she moved, it meant she would have to figure out what to do next. It meant she would have to face that silver haired man named Steven, it meant she would have to tell him she couldn't possibly return back to college. No, not with everything that went on at the moment. So many things were wrong, including herself, May wouldn't convince herself to leave it. That was just the kind of person she happened to be, but she was scared. She was timid. A parent dead, another missing, she feared many more bits and pieces. Namely, what if this person came for her as well? What if her life was in danger? Why were her parents targeted anyway? The thoughts frightened her more, and more, so why bother to move? Why bother to go forward?

May couldn't bear the idea of it, therefore she sat there, frozen, similar to the likeness of a statue. However, soon enough, it wasn't going to be her choice to move forward or not. As the knob on the door turned, he steadily peeked in to see if the victim's child had awoken. Even now, she sat motionless, looking at the window. May neither flinched nor dared to meet the man's stare, she could feel his eyes on her. His grey eyes wouldn't leave her, for some odd reason he halted seeing her frame. He honestly believed the scene before him was that of a painted portrait—her oceanic eyes looked effervescent with the sunlight shining on her face.

Steven stepped into the room, not breaking his gaze on the girl. It was silent. Silent longer than May had liked it to be. She stayed incredibly still, and she figured her body did so because she had no guess of what to say. Therefore he broke the quietude.

"I came to see if you were still here." His face appeared blank, showing no interest whatsoever. "I had thought you would've left by now."

May pursed her dry lips, then swallowed. "I'm sorry but I didn't get enough sleep last night." She glanced at the digital alarm clock. It was only 8AM and this man, as stiff as a wooden board, already wanted her gone? "I did receive awful news last night," she croaked scornfully, rolling her eyes.

What was this? Why was she acting so ugly with such contempt? The investigator inhaled sharply, his chest rose with his breath. "Fair enough, your car is at your home, you can walk with me there to retrieve it."

"Alright," was all she could say. She peered at the floor as she stood up, slipping her feet into her flats. She followed the broad shouldered man, studying his back. She sighed, his demeanor really did seem hard, stiff, and distant. _I wonder if he has a gir—_

May inwardly slapped herself. Why should she bother herself with this standoffish man's relations? _He probably has bad luck with women, anyway._ But who was she to say that? Who was she wanting to pry into his affairs? She shook her head, she had more important things to focus on. That was right, her father… Her father was dead, never to come back. However, May didn't want to focus on that, every time she did, her body became numb and tears instantly rushed. She felt nauseous. She felt disgusted. Disgusted with herself, she thought about this Steven's private concerns while she should have been about her own.

Hence, May faced only the negative traits of this man. She winced, remembering that she had quite the bruise on her skull, it gave her a headache full of shooting pain. _Oh, right, and where did I get that bruise again?!_ It was _his_ fault! It was this aloof detective who slugged her upside the head and knocked her cold! Why… Why if he wasn't so—!

"Here, this should help any head pain you're having." Steven handed her a coffee with aspirin. "Pain that I might have or might not have caused last night," he uttered frankly.

_If he wasn't so charming I'd clobber him!_ She brusquely took the medicine and drink from his hands, her face displayed a frown in choleric manners. May could feel the phlegm stuck in her throat, reflecting on that last thought. She glanced at the man briefly, her scowl tightened. _He's not charming, he's an inflexible, bluenosed fink!_

She just could not wait until they arrived at her house, she just could not wait to say goodbye to his sorry face, she just could not wait to drive so far away! She would drive so far away no one would find her, drive to somewhere no one knows her. And she would attempt to forget anyone who had ever come into her life, because what was the point in trying to move forward when she had no idea where to start? May didn't want anything to do with this town, or anyone related to it, she had to run away from it. Run away? Had to? No, she didn't have to do any of that, she was too scared to face it. She just wanted to run away.

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Their walk was a quiet one, the young man figured it couldn't have been any other way. He wasn't exactly Mr. Extrovert and Sunshine. And how could he be? He didn't know this young woman, he didn't know anything about her—only the fact she was coping with the loss of a parent. He couldn't do much about that either, but he would promise to himself, and the girl, in his mind to solve this case.

First things first, the girl needed to go back to college. That was right, that was where she would be safest, and he hadn't known wether she would be targeted like her parents. But why would she? The only reason her parents were targets was because—

"When we reach my house," May began cutting into his thoughts, her words almost in a whisper, "may I come inside with you?"

She avoided looking him in the face, her eyes averted to the ground. He swallowed, keeping his gaze on her. "If you'd like."

He grimaced, regretting his words immediately. Was that such a good idea? To let this young girl see such a travesty of her home, the place she grew up? Steven pursed his lips, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. The rest of their walk resulted in silence, not one of them glanced at the other once. Once they arrived at the Sebastian residence, May's feet had stopped. They wouldn't move.

The investigator walked back to her side, facing her. "Are you coming? If not, you can leave," he earnestly told her. His grey eyes and chin pointed towards her car, _that_ was the only reason she walked with him.

Yet, Steven noticed the longing in her eyes, he could see it. She wanted to go inside, badly. The young woman didn't move though, and the winter air swept underneath their noses. The tension would not resign from the atmosphere; but neither would he leave her standing like a statue nor would he force her. He couldn't understand this sensation as much as he'd like to.

That's why he nodded to her, giving her reassurance he'd be inside the house. "You can let me know if you're leaving, I'll just be inside."

Steven walked away slowly, when he arrived at the porch door, he unlocked it with the key the police station had given him. He lifted up the yellow tape and went underneath it, entering the house. May no longer was with him, and he glanced around the living room. It was time to begin work.

The television in the living room was untouched, as was all the other furniture. Nothing seemed to be out of place or missing, therefore he could clear out this was not a robbery. The murder scene happened to be right there in the living room—in front of the couch—on the pure white carpet. Steven's face became grim at the sight, perhaps it was best May didn't come inside after all.

He ventured into the kitchen, nothing out of place. Then down the halls, the bathroom, the closets, guest room, Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian's bedroom, and… May's bedroom. Terrifying as it was, her room felt as if it was recently occupied. It seemed as though it had more breath in it than the rest of the house. Every other room appeared untouched, yet hers gave off the impression of invisible hands all over. Chills ran down his spine as he closed her bedroom door and walked down the hallway into the living room. He halted straightaway and his heart dropped to his stomach the second he saw the front door open.

The front door open and May, who stood there, stared with eyes agape on the dark red before her. Her face paled, all life sucked from her, focusing on the large stain in white. _Red, red, red. _She looked inanimate, her body didn't move an inch, and it hadn't looked like she was breathing either. Steven clenched his fists and walked toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders and leading her off the porch.

May didn't blink and she still held no expression on her pale face. "I—"

"It's alright," he whispered remorsefully, "I shouldn't have let you see that."

His hands still rested upon her shoulders, his eyes said he was apologetic, his lips said he regretted it wholly. The brunette put her hands atop his, taking them off her. She began for her car, bit by bit with slow steps. Steven followed, he stood by her vehicle as she climbed in, she shut the door. He still gazed through the window as she sat there. May started her car, then unrolled the glass. Her face turned to him.

Steven didn't say a word as she stared, her cheeks flushed and her eyes watered. But he couldn't just let her leave without at least warning her, yet none of that would come out. Nothing except: "say you'll go back to your college and stay there."

Her mouth opened, but she could say nothing, she only nodded. May looked at him one last time and blinked, her lips tightening into a somber line. She rolled up the window and started to drive away. Steven watched the car go down the street, he swallowed. Was that the best choice? Her car vanished from his sight. Would she be alright by herself? His insides turned cold and hot at once. He wasn't sure, but as he turned back to the house, something told him he'd better stay in town. The investigator shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes were foreboding.

The thought disturbed him, the young woman who just drove away—without a doubt someone was going to come after her. The only question would be: could he catch them before they caught her?

_chapter 3, end._

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_author's note: _y'all have no idea how much fun I had planning out this story, no kidding. No guaranteeing there won't be plot twists and the like though! You guys should listen to Misterwives too, I've gotten into their music lately. NO ITS NOT YOUR WAY, NOT YOUR WAY, NOT GOIN' TO OBEY, TO OBEY! I've been so busy, I hate life. Anywaaaays, R&amp;R!


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